Knicks Two-Way Guard Could Try Entering NCAA

The New York Knicks' decision to sign former first-round draft pick Dillon Jones to a two-way contract looks like a textbook margin move on the surface. The sophomore was yanked away from the Portland Trail Blazers-affiliated Rip City Remix to pad the end of the Knicks' bench, and it's not as if he has a clear avenue to minutes in joining a reeling New York squad in general disarray and with plenty of mouths to feed.

But the ripple effect of Jones, now part of his third NBA team in under two years, filling out the team's final two-way slot affects all of the other prospects vying for opportunity in the Knicks' development system.

One former top prospect, Dink Pate, sees another opportunity close in his attempt at rising from the Westchester Knicks. According to reports, this could be the last straw before he makes a dramatic heel-turn pertaining to his NBA career.

According to DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony, Pate is open to following in the footsteps of other struggling fringe-NBA players in exploring making his NCAA debut. In an attempt to preserve potential eligibility, he's now turning down two-way offers from other organizations while he mulls over his options.

NEWS: Westchester Knicks guard Dink Pate is increasingly exploring college options, his agent Sam Permut of Roc Nation tells DraftExpress. The 19-year-old former G League Ignite product has declined multiple two-way offers from NBA teams to preserve his NCAA eligibility. pic.twitter.com/S4HCJp0ch4
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) January 21, 2026

Consolidating his Developmental Years

He wouldn't be the first former Knick prospect to make the alternative turn to the college game. Just a few months ago, former 2023 draft pick James Nnaji made the jump from Westchester to Baylor University, taking his first whack at the NCAA after several years of professional basketball overseas.

Pate is a little different. He, too, has technical eligibility, a 2023 high school grad who turned to the doomed project that was G League Ignite, but unlike Nnaji, he inked an Exhibit 10 deal at the season's start. That's about the bare minimum that franchises will toss at prospects with opportunities to continue growing through the G, but having signed a version of an NBA contract, he'll have to wait for the eligibility committee to provide a ruling.

He was a popular prospect out of high school, a 6'8 athlete with playmaking and defensive upside. Efficiency concerns in halfcourt settings held him back from thriving as a scorer and effective creator. Pate's flashed occasional vertical and instinctive brilliance in Westchester, but he remains far away from contributing to the win-now setting with the big-league Knicks.

Should Pate be granted an NCAA avenue, he'd have two more years of eligibility left. No decision's been made from his camp, but this report from his agent indicates that he may be the next dwindling prospect to re-ignite his hype through a college debut.

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